. (There is a lot of side eyeing between bodyboarders and surfers, and his mates didn’t want to have one tagging along.)
“I did get a board and then there was just no turning back.”
Darby went on to compete in an international adaptive surfing event. He is the former president of Adaptive Surfing NZ and teaches surfing through Rapu Adventures on Auckland’s west coast beaches.
Yes, the students, who are often high schoolers, give off curious stares when they are greeted at the beach by a surf coach who is missing what some would (mistakenly) consider a vital appendage for the sport. Younger students are more unfiltered with their curiosity.
“They’re just like, ‘Whoa, what happened to your hand?’”
“If I’m in a good mood. I’ll tell them the truth, or otherwise I’ll say, “Oh, it was taken by a shark out here last week.’”
Luke Darby
PhotoCPL.co.nz
Darby doesn’t believe his progression in surfing was much different from anyone else’s. Balance was not an issue because he had only known a life with one hand. He figured out how not to paddle in circles by pulling through the water under his board rather than beside it. To duck dive, he places his hand at the tip of the nose to push the board and his body underneath an oncoming wave. He pops up onto his feet at an angle using one hand (he tried using a claw attachment, but prefers surfing as he is).
“I’m actually twisting my body and getting into my stance position quicker, which I think is a more effective way to pop up.
“I actually teach the kids that, also when they’re struggling. I’m like ‘Well, try this’, and for a few of them, it works.”
He had moments of pure joy while he was learning to surf, and moments of absolute hopelessness.
“I guarantee you every surfer has those days, even with full ability. You have those days where you’re just getting smashed, and you’re out of rhythm.”
Luke Darby midway through a turn.
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Darby credits his positive approach to watching his grandfather, who lost his leg in a childhood accident, get on with life just fine.
“…he was amazing, building houses and just like nothing stopped him, so for me it was ‘I’ll just do what he does’.”
His parents also instilled in him the truth that everyone is different.
“If it wasn’t my hand, it was going to be something else, so don’t worry about it.”
Besides adapting his surfing, he learned not to compare himself to others in the water.
“Over the years, I’ve just learned to not try and compete with other people, to keep up because. There’s no point.”
Luke Darby before running a surfing lesson at Auckland’s Piha beach.
supplied
When he does compete, he competes at a high level against others in international adaptive surfing events. In 2017, he was New Zealand’s sole representative at the World Adaptive Surfing Championships in California.
He, along with other adaptive surfers like Mike Warnes, who lost his leg in an accident five years ago, wants to see a national adaptive surfing competition. Organisations like Disabled Surfers Association New Zealand have received support to introduce the possibility of surfing to their community. However, that’s where the support ends, says Darby, who pays his own way when he represented New Zealand in 2017.
“There’s no pathway from ‘Oh, have a go’ to what’s next; there is nothing.
“There is no support for the high-performance stuff.”
A standalone adaptive surfing event would develop talent in the community, bring exposure to the sport and inspiration for others, says Ben Kennings, the chief executive of Surfing New Zealand.
“You don’t do it unless you see it.
Luke Darby (middle) with his surfing buddy Bruce Campbell (right), who surfers with a prosthetic leg.
supplied
